Huntsmen
by blizzard2798
Summary: In an alternate timeline, Rain Xiao Long is no Soldier. He is in fact about to join Beacon academy with his sisters. But his presence has been noted by the enemy and he is in more danger than he knows. (Quasi-sequel or maybe technically a quasi-prequel. You definitely want to read Soldiers first or this won't make a lot of sense.)
1. Chapter 1

**Huntsmen Chapter 1**

"I'm not letting you go in there by yourself." Rain said, blocking the door to the club.

Yang tried to push past him, "You don't exactly do well at espionage, big brother. I don't need you causing a scene like you did our first day at Signal."

Rain looked down, "That ginger disrespected you. And how was I supposed to know he hadn't activated his aura yet?"

"That guy quit Signal because of you. You're way too protective of me and we need this lead to find Mom. We can't risk you going crazy just because some guy makes a pass at me. Just stay with the bikes. I'll be fine."

Rain knew she was right, "Fine." he stepped aside and she entered the club.

Shortly after Yang went in, a man in a bowler hat came out. "Hey, kid." he said to Rain.

"Can I help you?" Rain responded.

The man lit a cigar. "Are those your bikes?" he motioned to where his and Yang's motorcycles stood.

Rain straightened up, hoping this guy wasn't looking for trouble. "One of them. The other one belongs to my sister."

"They look nice. Stylish, even. Be careful tonight, kid. Might wanna take those bikes home."

With that, the man strolled off, twirling his cane and humming a tune.

"Was he threatening me or genuinely trying to help?" Rain looked at his reflection in a puddle, "And now you're talking to yourself. That's great. Totally healthy."

"It's not that abnormal." A familiar voice said from behind him.

He turned around to see his little sister standing on the sidewalk behind him. "Ruby? What are you doing out this late at night?"

"Well, I realized that I forgot to check out the new magazines at 'Dust Till Dawn'. So I figured I would go now..."

"When you knew Yang and I were out." Rain finished for her, "Because you knew I would stop you leaving."

Ruby looked down at her shoes and fiddled with her hands. "I wouldn't put it like that, but yeah. Basically."

Rain rubbed his forehead, trying to make a decision. "Okay, here's what we'll do. When Yang comes out, I'll take you to the store and we can stay for fifteen minutes. If you're not done by then, I'm dragging you back to Signal."

Ruby's face lit up, "Really? You're the best big brother." She ran over and hugged him.

He tried unsuccessfully to pry her off. "If I were a good big brother, I'd just drag you back to Signal."

They heard a window shatter and saw a man fall out a window above them. Rain moved to shelter Ruby from the falling glass. Yang jumped out the window after him.

"Yang?" Ruby looked at her sister quizzically.

Rain walked over to see if the man was still breathing. "What happened to not causing a scene?" he asked.

Yang crossed her arms. "He tried to start something. I had to do something."

Rain looked up, silently beseeching the gods to help him understand women. Hearing nothing, he looked back to Yang. "I'm taking Ruby to the store. We should be back by curfew."

He climbed onto his motorcycle and Ruby settled in behind him. He sped down the street and left Yang to make her way home.

* * *

Rain was getting bored looking at magazines and was just about to tell Ruby time was up when he heard a voice. "Alright kids, hand where I can see them."

Rain turned around to see a guy pointing a sword at them. He tapped Ruby's shoulder and she saw it too. She took off her headphones. "Are you robbing us?" she asked.

"Yes." the man almost yelled.

Rain and Ruby looked at each-other and had to fight back giggles. "Do you want him?" she asked Rain.

Rain took a half-step back, "He's all yours."

His sister delivered a running kick to the man's face and he flew out the end of the aisle. Another man came around the corner and Rain and Ruby knocked him out the window, travelling with him. They turned back to see three more men drawing guns on them.

Rain turned to Ruby, "Can you handle it?"

Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose in scythe form. She looked at the men without expression. "Absolutely."

Rain stood back and watched his sister fly into combat with a glee that was almost disturbing. Whoever these guys were, they were not well-trained. Ruby cut them down like wheat before her scythe.

Rain saw the man he'd met outside the club emerge from the store. He looked down at one of them. "You were worth every cent. Truly you were." he looked to Ruby, "Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening, and as much as I'd love to stick around," he pointed his cane at Ruby, "I'm afraid this is where we part ways." he pulled a trigger and Rain sprang into action. He stepped in front of Ruby just in time to absorb the shot.

Rain looked around to kill the man who had just tried to shoot his sister, but smoke from the shot obscured his vision. When it cleared, the man was halfway up a building across the street. Rain looked around and saw the other criminals getting up. He also heard a bullhead nearby.

"Ruby, you're faster. Grab the guy before he gets away. I'll secure these guys. Go."

Ruby dashed off and Rain started stacking the criminals. When he was done, he used his gauntlets to wrap them up in ice until the cops could get there. A few seconds after he finished, he heard an explosion. When he turned around, there was smoke emanating from the rooftop Ruby had climbed and a bullhead was flying away.

Seeing red, Rain jumped onto his motorcycle and roared off down the streets after the bullhead. Rain was pushing his bike to the limit, but the distance between them was slowly increasing. Rain knew if he wanted to catch them, he needed to try something crazy.

"I really hope this works." Rain froze the throttle in place and stood up on his seat. He built a hollow ice spear and packed it with energy. He took aim and launched the spear. It slammed into the left wing and the engine exploded. The bullhead crashed into the docks on its side and slid to a stop at the edge of a pier.

Rain slowed his bike down and stopped at the front of the pier. He built up an ice shield and stalked down the edge of the pier, watching the wreckage for any movement. Nothing moved until he got right next to the wreckage. He climbed up to see inside the compartment. He caught a flash of movement before he was blasted away.

Rain felt disoriented and was unable to get up. He heard two sets of footsteps approach him.

"I can't believe this kid took us down. I'm going to have to have a serious talk with all of my suppliers after this." Rain managed to open his eyes and saw the guy from the club again. Standing beside him was a woman dressed very impractically for a crime. She was also holding a ball of fire.

"Oh, Roman," she chuckled, "we should respect this young man for his courage and skill." She couched down to get closer to his face, "After all, he will be dead-" she paused, "Roman, we need to leave. Now."

"What are you talking about? We should just end this guy now. It'll take no time at all. I have a knife. It will be quick. It looks like his aura's depleted. No trouble at all."

The woman stood up and the fire faded. "No. We can't kill him yet. His mother might be... displeased. We need to leave before the police arrive." she started walking away, "Come, Roman."

Rain felt himself falling unconscious, but one thought burned in his mind, _How does she know my mother?_

* * *

Cinder walked up and down the warehouse, practically wearing a rut in the floor. _Why was one of her drones there? Doesn't she trust me to carry out the plan?_

She picked up the relic and poured some of her Maiden powers into it. "My lady, there is an urgent matter which requires your attention. Please answer my call."

After a minute had passed, Salem's head swam into vision above the relic. "Is something wrong, my child? You don't usually contact me until the mission is done."

"I was attacked by one of your sons tonight. I was unaware that you had one operating in Vale. And acting as a huntsman. If it isn't too disrespectful, why is here?"

There was a long pause from Salem. The silence seemed to stretch forever until finally, "Only one of my sons is alive at this time. And he is guarding the cave. You must have been mistaken."

"My lady, he looked exactly like your son. He can't be anyone else. Is it possible that one exists who doesn't know what he is?"

Salem held up a hand. "Cinder, your caution is prudent, but have no fear. I will dispatch my true son to Vale to investigate. If it is as you say, he will find his brother and remove him from the equation." Salem waved her hand and the relic's power faded.

* * *

"No no no!" Salem punched the wall, "How can this be? There were no indications of a second son in this time." she turned to the mosaic, "Show me the truth."

She laid her hands on the mosaic and it shifted through the ages, showing every event, instead of just the highlights. It slowed down only when one of her children was born. It came all the way to the modern age, where she saw her current son sired by a crow and a barmaid. But it could not show her another son at the same time.

She slammed a fist on the wall. "Show me my son in Vale. Show me the heir to my gifts."

The mosaic spun off the wall and restructured itself to display the lineage of the boy in Vale. It passed through many name until finally reaching a picture that physically exuded light. Even though she was forced to squint, Salem could see the child coming forth beside a phoenix and a gem in the shape of a rose.

"Gabriel." Salem called without taking her eyes off the mural. "Come to me, child."

A figure cloaked in shadows approached from the mouth of the cavern. He knelt. "Yes, mother. What is it you would have me do?"

Salem pointed to the mosaic, "The man pictured here is your brother. He has found a way to disobey my orders. I need you to go to Vale, kill the two also pictured here, and bring me my wayward son. I wish to understand this anomaly."

The shadowy figure stood up, "It shall be done, mother. Nothing shall stop me from carrying out your will." He turned and disappeared into the darkness.

"Oh, I know you will try." Salem turned back to the mosaic, "Or at least you will try."

The mosaic had returned to its original way of showing the future. The next large event was set as a battle between light and darkness. No victor was clear, though. The light and darkness were taking up equal space on the mosaic, but there was a flash of yellow every now and then. And she had no idea what it could mean.

* * *

 **A.N: So a little explanation is necessary. For awhile I wanted to write a sequel to Soldiers, but I couldn't think of anywhere else to go with it. Then two more volumes happened and basically everything I came up with was completely wrong. I then had an idea while rereading Soldiers: the alternate timeline I introduced in chapter 21 of Soldiers. Anyone coming into this should really read Soldiers first. I'm not sure how often this will be updated, but I will not abandon it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Huntsmen Chapter 2**

Rain woke up surrounded by police, his head fuzzy. He managed to struggle to a sitting position and looked around. Based on the moon, he had been out for an hour at most.

 _Well that's not good._ He stumbled to his feet and started walking towards his bike. _At least I don't seem to have brain damage. But they got away._ He paused. The reason he had been chasing them came slamming into focus. _RUBY!_ Rain jumped on his bike and sped back to the shop.

When he pulled up, the street had turned into a full crime scene. The police were trying to extract the guys he had put on ice. The shop owner was being talked to by the cops and he could see more cops on the roof that had exploded.

He walked up to one of the officers. "Excuse me. There was a girl on that roof before it exploded. Where is she?"

The cop looked him up and down. "That's classified information, son. You don't get to ask about whatever you want. That's not how the police work."

Rain had to calm himself down before he punched the cop, "She's my sister and it's my fault she was here in the first place. So please, can you at least tell me if she's alive?"

The officer's demeanour softened, "I'm sorry, kid. Your sister suffered no injuries, but a huntress brought her to the precinct for question-"

Rain jumped on his motorcycle and sped off towards the precinct.

"-ing" the officer finished. He shook his head. "Kids, these days."

* * *

Rain pulled up to the precinct and spent just enough time to turn off his bike before he was up the steps and through the doors. He looked around and found the place more abandoned than a ghost town. He walked up to where the desk sergeant should be sitting and found a little bell. He proceeded to ding the bell every five seconds until a slightly disheveled and quite disgruntled looking man came around a corner.

"Quit dinging the bell, kid. You're gonna break it and gods know the city won't pay for a new one." he picked up a clipboard, "So what are you here for? Something to do with the robbery, I'm guessing?"

Rain looked at him with a hint of suspicion, "How did you know?"

"Because that's what emptied this place out in the middle of the night. I'm guessing you saw or heard something and you want to make a statement." he handed Rain the clipboard, "Fill that out then hand it back to me. An officer will take your statement when available."

Rain slammed the clipboard down, splintering it in half. "I'm not here to make a statement! My sister was brought here for questioning after the robbery, but she did nothing wrong. All she was doing was trying to help." Rain leaned over the counter, menace in his eyes, "Now you tell me where she is being held, or so help me, I will pull this building down brick-by-brick until I find her."

The cop looked Rain up-and-down. "No skin off my nose if you piss off those two. Third floor, second door on your left. Don't bring up my name." Rain raced off down the hallway, "Wrong way." Rain turned around and ran the right way.

Rain raced through the empty precinct hallways. Blood pounding in his eardrums. His vision slowly turning red, up the stairs, each step matched to the deafening pounding. When he got to the door, his blood cooled but a little.

With a mighty kick, he knocked the door inwards, not even noticing it change directions midair and fly to the right. He didn't even notice that the man sitting in front of him hadn't so much as tensed up. Rain stomped into the room, shouting in a voice so feral it sounded more like a roar, "Don't you touch my sister!"

The man sitting at the table stood up and turned around. "You are the young mister Xiao Long, I take it. My name is Professor Ozpin and I can guarantee you that your sister has been treated with the utmost kindness." Professor Ozpin stepped to the side, "As you can plainly see."

Ruby looked taken aback by Rain, but she spoke with clarity. "Yeah, Rain. Nobody 'touched' me, and they even gave me cookies." she held up an empty plate. She looked at the plate a little sheepishly, "Which I ate..."

Rain took a moment and decompressed. Then the realizations hit him in rapid succession. _I just threatened the headmaster of Beacon. Oh shit, he could kick me out for that. Wait, why is he here interrogating Ruby?_

Rain cleared his throat, "Sorry for yelling at you, sir. If I may ask, why are you here? Surely you have more important things to deal with."

Ozpin chuckled, "Mr. Xiao Long, I was impressed when I heard that your sister was able to stand up to such treacherous foes. I have in fact just offered her a place in my school. You'll be attending my school as well, won't you."

Rain looked at his feet, "If you'll still accept me, sir. Given my outburst just now you would be within your rights to expel me."

"And why would I do that? You've demonstrated great strength, loyalty, protective instincts, and you have just shown me that you can accept the consequences of your actions. I would be proud to have you attend Beacon."

Rain bowed, "Thank you, sir."

Ozpin nodded, "Come, Glynda. We still have much to prepare for orientation."

A stern-looking woman Rain hadn't noticed before followed Ozpin out of the room. Before she turned the corner, she flicked the riding crop in her hand and the door flew back into place. As if it had never been broken.

Rain turned to Ruby, "That went a lot better than I expected. And did he just say that you're going to Beacon?"

Ruby looked a little proud, "Yeah-huh."

"As in, this year?"

"Yep."

"Uncle Qrow is going to be so proud of his star student. Isn't it a bit dangerous, though. I mean, you're only two years into Signal. There's still a lot of learning you haven't done."

Ruby rolled her eyes, "Can you stop being so protective and just be happy for me? Please?"

"Of course I'm proud of my baby sister managing to skip two years of combat school." he walked over and ruffled her hair, "But you are my little sister, and I will always be protective of you."

* * *

"I can't believe that guy is throwing up." Rain said, "Seriously, if you get motion sick in a ship this size, how can you expect to be a huntsman with the amount of times you have to travel by airship? It's ridiculous."

"Leave vomit-boy alone," Yang said, "He's probably just nervous. Eager to impress"

"If he didn't impress them already, he's in trouble."

"Guys," Ruby chirped, "can you stop focusing on vomit-boy for five seconds? We're about to land at Beacon!" her voice pitched up a few octaves. "We're following in our family's footsteps and we're going to be the best huntresses-"

Rain cleared his throat.

"And huntsman ever. How are you not crazy excited for this?" Ruby was bouncing off the walls.

"We are." Rain said, "We're just a bit more reserved than you. It happens when you're mature."

"Indubitably, dear sister." Yang said in a British accent, holding some of her hair across her lips as a moustache, "You are simply too young to understand the intricacies of controlling one's emotional state."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Yang, you literally lose your temper to make yourself stronger. You don't get to talk about emotional control."

Rain chuckled.

"And you," Ruby turned to Rain, "after what you pulled at the police station, you don't get to call yourself reserved."

Yang turned to Rain, "What happened at the police station?"

"I may have threatened Professor Ozpin."

" _Why_ would you do that?"

"Well clearly I didn't know it was him at the time. I just wanted to make sure our baby sister was being treated kindly. Given the benefit of hindsight, I probably could have handled the situation better. But that's how hindsight works."

"Whatever. Let's just get to orientation."

* * *

When they landed, Rain quickly separated from his sisters with a quick, "See you in a bit."

He made a quick lap of Beacon's perimeter, doing his best to inspect any defences. He was more than a little disappointed by what he saw. As far as he could tell, the only defence was the fact that the school was built on top of a plateau. No gun embankments. No walls, even. Just a cliff.

"Come on, people. Just a cliff? I guess it makes sense. It's not like several species of grimm can fly or anything. And none of them can climb at all. Seriously, not even a wall?"

"It's safer than you might realize." a voice behind him said.

Rain turned around to see a girl with a bow on her head looking at him over a book.

"What do you mean it's safe? Nevermores could appear at any moment."

The girl lowered her book. "True. But they won't. This school trains huntsmen and huntresses. Which means they have several very competent huntsmen on staff. The grimm probably know this by now. Also, unlike in the city, most of the people here aren't afraid of grimm, which means we don't attract them with negative emotions. Somebody might get in a fight every now-and-then, but by and large most of us are thinking positively. Therefore, the grimm aren't drawn here."

"Wow. Impressive. Did you come up with that just now or was it in a brochure I missed?"

A small smirk crossed her face, "Brochure. And growing up on the road."

"Well that's a bit more impressive than my resume. I grew up in a family of huntsmen and huntresses. I never even looked at the different schools. Beacon was always the only choice for me." he stuck out his hand, "My name's Rain Xiao Long."

She shook his hand, "Blake Belladonna. Rain seems an odd name. Even around here."

He looked down sheepishly. "It's short for something."

"What's it short for?"

Rain grimaced, "Sorry, but that's one embarrassing secret you gotta earn. I don't just bandy it about."

Blake looked curious, "And how does one earn that knowledge?"

"Well, there a few ways. If you were to save my life or the life of one of my sisters, I suppose that would be enough. I'd definitely reveal it to somebody I trusted. But there are scant few of those. I'd probably tell whoever ends up on my team. Beyond that, not likely I would tell anybody else."

"Well, now I am intrigued." she checked her scroll, "But I think we should head to the orientation instead. It's starting in a few minutes."

"Well then," Rain offered his arm, "Would you like an escort, Ms. Belladonna?"

Blake hid a laugh behind her hand. "Does that work on all the girls?"

Rain lowered his arm. "Not particularly. Just being goofy. Can we at least walk together in companionable silence? Or are you going to refuse that as well?"

"No. Companionable silence is fine."

The two of them fast-walked back to the auditorium.

* * *

Rain picked a spot at the top of some stairs in the mess hall that night. He could see his sisters interacting with Blake. "Oh, that'll be fun for me."

"What will?" a cheerful voice said behind him.

He turned around and saw a redhead with a golden crown. He noticed that she had set up her sleeping bag on the same landing he had.

"Do I know you? You look pretty familiar. Almost like a celebrity or something."

The girl blushed, "My name is Pyrrha. I'm on some cereal boxes."

"I'm Rain. Wait a second. You're not Pyrrha Nikos, are you? Mistral's prodigy child?"

"The one and only, it would seem."

"Well hot damn. Why are you here? I mean, at Beacon. Why not go to Haven?"

Pyrrha tilted her head, as if the question didn't make sense. "Because Beacon is the best of the four academies. I need to be the best. It seemed only fitting."

Rain regarded her with suspicion. "Why do you need to be the best? Me? I just want to be able to save people. But I don't need to be the best to do that. So why?"

Pyrrha balked, "Becoming the best is an end unto itself. If I become the best, then nobody else has to try."

"That's an... interesting way of thinking. And somehow it doesn't ring true. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to be better than you at everything until you tell me your real goals."

"Why do you need to know my 'real goals'?"

"Because we might end up on the same team. And I really want to be able to trust the people on my team. Can't trust somebody who keeps secrets."

"You're infuriating."

Rain shrugged, "I get that a lot. I'll stay out of your way if you tell me the truth, though."

Pyrrha harrumphed and got into her sleeping bag.

Rain chuckled, "Goodnight, rival." he said before going to sleep.

* * *

"I don't like that young man." Glynda said, turning away from the monitor. "He's disrespectful and volatile. He kicked a door at you."

Ozpin set down his mug. "Now, Glynda, what he may lack in certain... social graces, he more than makes up for in skill. Most of his instructors said they've never seen him go all-out in a fight. Plus, he made a valid argument. I wouldn't trust a teammate I could tell was withholding information. I'm also curious that he has no record of a semblance. I can't believe that he hasn't developed one by now. But the reasons one might have for keeping a semblance secret is quite intriguing."

"And Qrow was unable to give you an answer? That is, if he wasn't too drunk to answer your calls."

"No. He said that Yang or Ruby might know, but if they do, they haven't told anyone."

"Do you have any theories on what it could be?"

"Only one that has any merit. But it could also just be wishful thinking on my part."

"You don't mean..."

"Yes, I think he might be able to help with our... problem in the basement. But we can't approach him without knowing for sure. You must push him in your classes, Glynda. When the teams finally get settled in a few weeks, start throwing pairs and groups of other students at him. I want him to be at the breaking point. I want him to have no choice but to use his semblance. If it is what I think, we need to know as soon as possible."

* * *

 **A.N: So this took a bit of time to do. That was mostly because I forgot about it for a week. Then I remembered. Anyways, not much to say here. I don't think Pyrrha's reaction to Rain is too out of character for her. There were some moments in the show where she displayed a certain level of cockiness, which would clash with Rain's... for lack of a better term, quirkiness. And it's not like it would be impossible that he met Blake there. She did walk towards the cliffs after her first encounter with Weiss and Ruby. I'm not sure why I feel the need to justify certain things, (since this is a fanfic and I could literally do anything) but I do. So happy reading, I guess. Also, this will probably end up just being "Hey, what if Rain were there during the events of the show? Would anything change?" The answer of course being, maybe. Thinking about all the implications of small stuff I'm going to do, a lot could change.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Huntsmen Chapter 3**

Rain was sitting with his sisters, powering through breakfast.

"So did you two make any new friends yesterday?"

"I made one friend, one acquaintance, and one negative friend." Ruby chirped.

"It's the first day. Too early to make new friends." Yang said, "What about you?"

Rain sighed, "I fear I may have made out worse than Ruby. I count one acquaintance and one rival."

Ruby snorted, "Who's your rival? You've never even had to use your semblance in a fight."

Rain motioned with his head, "You see that redhead with the crown? I decided to become her rival."

"You chose to go up against Pyrrha Nikos? Why?" Yang asked.

"She wouldn't answer a simple question, so I told her I would stand in the way of her becoming the best until she answered me. Simple."

"You have weird interactions with people, my twin. You decided to rival one of the greatest fighters on Remnant because she wouldn't answer your question?"

"Yes. Because I know I'm better. And because I can already tell it will really piss her off if I beat her as easily as I beat everybody else. Speaking of which."

Rain got up and put his dishes on a cart. He then disappeared down a hallway before returning minutes later with his gauntlets. He walked over to his sisters.

"I think she'll start taking it seriously when I'm the first one at initiation. And then I'll probably be the first to pass whatever test they've set up. Really I just want to crush her spirits as soon as possible."

Rain walked out of the cafeteria, whistling a jaunty tune.

* * *

"Now, take your positions." Ozpin said.

Rain could feel the pad beneath him gearing up for something, but he couldn't tell what. Rather suddenly he knew exactly what it was for, as he felt himself hurtling through the sky.

 _Okay. How to land? I could just fall into the forest naturally. But I should try and get as far as possible. No way I could fly. But I might be able to fall with style._

Rain placed his left gauntlet over his chest and began to form the dust. Something he had figured out as a child. _I hope this works._ He thought.

Before long, he had a glider made out of thin sheets of ice attached to his back. He could feel the rate of his fall decreasing and he began to soar over the trees. He didn't have long to enjoy it, though.

At that moment, a small mass collided with his glider and shattered it, sending Rain towards the ground. It was only through his quick reflexes that he caught a tree branch and missed slamming into the ground.

He looked down to see a dazed midget with a mohawk grinning sheepishly at him. "Sorry about that. I thought your glider was stronger than that. Figured I'd hitch a ride."

Rain jumped down in front of him. "As much as I do not like this, I guess we're partners now. I'm Rain. What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Russel. And don't worry," he pulled out two daggers with dust cartridges in the hilts, "I won't drag you down in a fight."

"Somehow I doubt that." Rain began marching north.

Russel raced to catch up and fell in beside Rain. "I'm serious. I can hold my own in a fight. Might even be able to teach you a thing or two."

Rain laughed. "That's a good one. Now tell me the one about the human, the faunus, and the beowolf all walking into a bar."

Russel moved in front of Rain and grabbed him. "Hey! I passed the same test you did. I have just as much to offer as you."

"Really?"

"Really!"

"Okay, then. How would you take down an alpha ursa?"

Russel frowned. "Why does that matter?"

"Because there's one about to charge us about thirty feet behind you."

Russel's face paled and he slowly turned around. When he saw the ursa, he ducked behind Rain. "We can't fight that thing. We'll die."

Rain sighed, "Of course I get stuck with an amateur."

Rain walked forward and yelled a challenge to the ursa. It roared back and began charging full speed towards Rain. At the last second, Rain carelessly jumped up and coated his arm in a blade made of ice before slamming back down. Directly on the ursa's neck. His blade went through like a guillotine.

Rain turned back to Russel. "That's how you take out an alpha ursa. They may be big, but they're stupid and they can't stop or turn well. Remember that. Starting today, I will beat you into shape both literally and figuratively."

"Why do you care so much? You could probably beat a whole team single handedly."

"I definitely could. But that's not the point. See, I've already got a rival here. Basically, I just have to do better than her at everything. Which normally for me would be comically easy. But unfortunately I have to be part of a team. Which means her team has the chance to be better than mine. The only way to avoid that is to make sure my team is the best."

"You're scary, man. But I can tell that you're not fully crazy, so I'm down."

"Good. Now let's get a move-on. We need to be first to the temple."

* * *

"Remind me again why we're hiding in a bush." Russel said.

"Because one: I want to see how long it takes for my rival to arrive. Two: I think I figured out how teams will be decided and I want to observe our fellow team members before officially meeting them. And three: I need to make sure that my sisters get out safe."

Dove raised an eyebrow. "You have sisters in the same year? How does that work?"

"One's a twin and the other skipped two years. Perfectly logical. Now shut up and don't blow our cover. I hear people approaching."

Out of the trees walked Yang and Blake. Rain facepalmed. Russel turned to him, "What's wrong? Who are they?"

"A future headache. Now stay quiet. I'll keep lookout, you just check which piece they pick up."

Rain continued to scan their surroundings, looking for Ruby and – to a lesser extent – Pyrrha. It wasn't long before he heard a terrified, high-pitched scream. He turned in the direction it had come from and saw someone flying through the air. At the same time, he saw his sister falling out of the sky from seemingly nowhere.

"Uhh," Russel said, "they picked up a gold horse."

Rain sighed, "At the very least, you can follow orders. Look up."

Russel looked up. "What the hell? Should we help them?"

"No. This is a test of everyone's skills. They need to prove they can handle whatever situation comes their way."

Russel nodded his head agreeingly. "And what about the gigantic nevermore?"

Rain followed Russel's line of sight and then looked back down to the clearing. There are five of them. They can handle it."

"Right. Okay. And what about the deathstalker over there?"

Rain turned to see Pyrrha fleeing towards the temple with a deathstalker in pursuit. "It's fine."

"And the girl that just charged in and is about to be killed?"

Rain turned back to see Ruby pinned by a giant feather with the deathstalker bearing down on her. Every fibre of his being screamed to help her, but he knew that he couldn't always spring to her rescue or she would never grow. Then again, she would never grow if she was killed by a deathstalker.

Just when he was about to charge in, he saw a flash of white and the deathstalker was suddenly trapped in an ice wall. Rain silently offered up thanks to whatever gods there were.

"Okay. I count eight of them now. That should be enough to handle whatever comes their way. Just sit back and check what relics they pick up."

"I've already got it written down, boss." Russel showed him his scroll with a picture of each pair and a description of which relic they had.

"Know that I say this with the utmost respect, Russel. You are a damn good lackey."

"Uhh, thanks. I guess."

"You're welcome."

* * *

It was only a few hours later that the last pair retrieved their relics. Rain quickly went down the list and made his best estimation of what the teams would be. He wasn't happy about some of the competition.

"Come on, Russel. Time to get out of here."

The two climbed the cliffs in relative silence. When they reached the top, they saw everybody else waiting. He could see a fleeting smirk cross Pyrrha's face.

"Rain?" Ruby pushed to the front, "How did you come in last?"

"That's what I would like to know, Ms. Rose." Professor Goodwitch seemed to form from the ether. "Mr. Xiao Long, Mr. Thrush. You two were the first ones to retrieve your relic. Why did you remain in the forest for so long?"

Rain locked eyes with her, never blinking. "I wanted to see what the other teams would be. See what the competition would be like, as it were."

Goodwitch seemed a bit flustered. "And how, pray tell, did you figure out teams when they haven't even been decided yet?"

"It doesn't take a genius to figure it out, ma'am. But if you want it to remain a surprise for the others, I won't tell anybody."

Rain walked away without being dismissed and began trying to find his new teammates. Instead, Pyrrha stepped directly into his path.

"Good evening, miss Nikos. How are you this fine day? I noticed you had to listen to somebody else's plan in order to take down a single deathstalker. Sad to see that you're so far behind me on the first day. This could all end if you were to... divulge you secrets to me. Perhaps over a nice dinner. I make terrific noodles."

Pyrrha slapped him and marched off towards the school grounds. Russel appeared in his field of vision. "Are you okay, boss? That looked like it hurt."

Rain massaged his cheek and was unsurprised to find a small cut. "Oh, I'm great. But her composure is eroding like sand in a hurricane."

* * *

Glynda smacked a pillar in Ozpin's office hard enough with her riding crop to chip off a piece. "That young man is even more infuriating than his uncle has ever been. The nerve. He also seems to have inherited his mother's disrespect for authority without even having met the woman."

Ozpin set down his mug. "You never got along with Raven, did you, Glynda?"

Glynda looked confused that Ozpin had even asked the question. "Of course not. The woman refused to listen to any chain of command that didn't put her immediately below you. She never even did most of her course work unless it was practical. She was a thoroughly infuriating person and it seems her son is well on his way to topping the heights of her hubris."

"I don't mean to offend, but you clearly never listened to a single thing either Raven or her son have said. I will not deny that their is a certain degree of hubris in them, but that is not entirely unearned. As I have realised working with Raven, they crave a challenge worthy of their skill. As near as I can tell, Rain has never even approached that in his life. So for him, any test that seems pitifully easy is just an insult to his intelligence."

"And his disrespectful attitude towards miss Nikos? He pushed her far enough to illicit violence. Do you see any problem with that?"

Ozpin took a sip of his coffee. "I believe that Rain may have felt he was complimenting her. He was using taunts that would have pricked even his thick skin. It's a way of showing an enemy respect. Although the fact that he sees her as an enemy is another problem entirely."

"So what should we do? Our plan to push him in combat seems like it has a low chance of panning out."

"I agree. Which is why I've already called in... specialists to get his secret out of him. They should get here in a few weeks."

"Surely you're not bringing them both in. We'll be lucky to have any buildings left standing."

"It's a risk, of course. But they are our best chance to learn his semblance. And he could be our best chance to stop the enemy. Maybe even for good."

"Sir. You sounded like James for a moment there. Surely you don't mean to turn this boy into a weapon? I may not like him, but he is far too young to be in this war."

* * *

"Listen up, men." Rain was pacing back and forth in front of his new team. And he did not like the look of them, "I'll be candid, team RLRD. This team is not ideal for me. I have someone I need to defeat and I can only do so if my team is better than hers. So that just means we'll have to train ten times harder than you have ever trained in your lives. Am I clear?"

Dove raised a hand. "Aren't we a team? Shouldn't we make decisions as a whole?"

Rain looked nonplussed. "Ordinarily, I wouldn't mind that none of you are anywhere near my skill class. But I have made a promise to someone and I never break a promise."

* * *

 **A.N: So it seems this is getting to be a habit. Not much else to say. Rain's team name is RaiLRoaD, by the way. Get ready for some train jokes.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Huntsmen Chapter 4**

Rain woke a few moments before the sun peeked over the horizon. Just the way he had trained himself to do. As he turned to the window, he saw a streak of darkness flash across it.

"Probably a bat speeding home to sleep." He turned to look at his teammates. "As for these lazybones..." Rain pulled out a whistle and gave it a blow. Immediately his teammates jumped/fell out of their beds.

Rain took up a position in front of them. "Alright, men. We will be waking up with the dawn every day from now on. If I have to personally wake you, you owe me ten push-ups for every second between dawn and when your feet touch the ground. Any questions?" his team all raised their hands, "No? Good. We have a full day ahead of us and I don't want to waste it with stupid questions. I want all of you dressed and ready to start the day in ten minutes. Bring anything you need for classes because we will not be returning here until classes are done for the day." With that, Rain quickly changed into his uniform, smiled to himself in the mirror, and grabbed his bag.

* * *

"Boss, I get that you want us to be cohesive, but isn't cleaning the entire mess hall before breakfast a bit of a ridiculous task? Besides, it already got cleaned last night." Russel said.

"It may have gotten cleaned last night, but since then a thin layer of dust has moved in. I want this place to sparkle every morning." Rain responded, "We are going to do this for several months until we stop for a week and start showing up to breakfast after everyone else. A week should be just long enough for all the other students to notice that we have been making this place just a little bit better every day."

"So we're going to get them used to higher quality without them knowing and them make them realize that we're the ones doing it?" Russel asked, confused.

"So that they then start to resent us just for being that little bit better than them. Hopefully causing other teams to step up their game, while also giving us the chance to show up the more lazy teams who will try to get back at us for being imperceptibly better. All the while we'll be improving the school and setting a precedent of excellence disguised as competition." Rain stared off into space, "It'll be glorious."

"I mean no offense by this, but are you sure being a huntsman was your true calling? You would make a terrifying politician." Russel said.

Rain shrugged, "I've considered it. Too much paperwork though."

After they'd scrubbed the dining hall spotless, Rain led them on a few laps around Beacon before getting breakfast. They ate quickly and hurried off to the first class. Rain insisted they sit in the second row so as to appear "eager, but not too eager."

* * *

Their classes went by fairly easily. Most of them were just an introduction to the course and some small assignments. But their last class was one Rain had been looking forward to; Combat.

"Now class," Professor Goodwitch said from the middle of the arena, "ordinarily we wouldn't be performing combat simulations until the second week. But given the extraordinary amount of skill present in your year, Professor Ozpin thought it would be prudent to skip the theory portion.

"So for today's matches," Goodwitch looked at her tablet, "We will be doing a small tournament with the leaders of each team." A tournament bracket appeared on the large view-screen and all the team leaders started looking around and sizing each-other up. Rain merely looked straight at Goodwitch.

 _Something doesn't smell right_. Rain thought to himself.

"The first match will be between Rain Xiao Long of team RLRD and Jaune Arc of JNPR. Gentlemen, please get your weapons and meet in the arena."

Rain looked over to see team JNPR trying to boost their leader's morale while Pyrrha stared daggers at him. As he got up to leave the stands, she intercepted him, grabbing his arm and shoving him into the hallway.

"Miss Nikos, I am flattered. Truly, I am. But if you wanted a tender moment in private, all you had to do was ask. I don't bite. Much."

Pyrrha slapped him hard across the face. "If you hurt him, I will put you in the ground. Are you listening to me? For this fight, our feud does not matter. You got that?"

"If you're asking me to go easy on him," Rain slid off his gauntlets and handed them to her, "then I will. You can hold onto these until the match is over." Rain slipped by her and into the arena.

"Mr. Xiao Long, where are your weapons?" Goodwitch asked, a wariness in her voice that he hadn't heard yet.

 _Finally starting to worry her. It's about time._ He thought. Out loud he said, "I noticed that Jaune's weapons don't use Dust so I thought it only fair that I not use any either." Rain saw hope flare behind Jaune's eyes and his stance became more confident.

Goodwitch looked between the two young men. "Alright. That's a rather noble gesture, young man. The fight isn't over until somebody's aura dips into the red. Begin!" she flicked her riding crop and a buzzer sounded.

Rain stayed where he was, letting Jaune make the first move. Jaune didn't disappoint. He rushed at Jaune with a swing that probably would have really hurt had Rain still been there. He backed up and let out a straight kick at Jaune's shield, causing it to bash him in the face. In the brief moment Jaune was disoriented, Rain darted around and got Jaune in a choke hold. Jaune was smarter than he seemed however and managed to slam an elbow into Rain's diaphragm, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to loosen his hold. Jaune managed to follow it up with a flip that sent Rain flying over his head. Rain heard a few cheers and whistles from the other students.

Rain got up to his feet and realized he had underestimated Jaune. Not by a lot, but still too much. "That was a nice move. I doubt any academy taught you that."

Jaune seemed to be hesitantly enjoying himself. "Do you have any siblings?" he asked.

"I have two sisters, yes."

Jaune laughed, "I've got seven."

"I am so sorry for you."

Jaune shrugged, "It wasn't all bad. My fingernails were always flawless."

Rain laughed, "I like you, Jaune. If I didn't have a rivalry with one of your teammates, I think we could be friends. Should we get back to the fight now?"

"That's probably a good idea."

Rain charged at Jaune, delivering jabs, elbows, and punches at a rate that forced Jaune to play defense. Rain noticed the crowd had gone silent as they started to realize that he really had been holding back. _Alright, time for phase two._

Rain let loose with a wild swing that caused him to overextend. Taking the bait, Jaune brought his sword up in both hands to bring it down on Rain. Rain quickly turned his swing into a handstand and kicked Jaune in the abdomen with his full force, activating his semblance at the same time to drain the aura just above Jaune's abdomen, a slight grimace crossing his face.

Jaune fell on his back, the wind knocked out of him. Rain moved so he had a foot on Jaune's sword hand and a knee on his chest. "Sorry about that, but I needed to establish how good I was. Do you yield?"

Jaune gasped in air. "Yeah, I think I'm done. I would not want to fight you for real."

Rain got up and helped Jaune get to his feet. "No, you would not." Rain said.

They turned to see Professor Goodwitch walking up to them. "Gentlemen," she said, "why have you ceased combat? The fight goes until one of you has lost too much aura. Both your bars are still in the green."

Rain and Jaune looked at each-other. Rain whispered, "Give me permission to use my semblance on you. You may have felt it earlier. I'll explain later, but for now, you gotta trust me. Deal?"

Jaune looked at Goodwitch. "Deal," he whispered, "So do I just let you touch me or what's gonna-" Jaune was cut off as Rain released a haymaker to his jaw and simultaneously drained his aura. He then released that aura so the the aura tracker wouldn't suddenly go up. Jaune crumpled instantly. Rain caught him and eased him to the ground.

Rain looked at Goodwitch, "Are we done now?"

A strange look crossed Goodwitch's face for a second. _That looked like satisfaction. But that makes no sense. Unless..._

"You know what, Professor? I think I'll take him to the infirmary just to be safe. I mean, he was not expecting that last hit. And I feel kind of responsible, you know." Rain picked up Jaune in a fireman's carry, "You can continue with the tourney. I forfeit. Goodbye." Rain marched out of the arena, leaving Goodwitch fuming.

Rain brought Jaune to the infirmary and quickly sent some aura into his unconscious body. Just enough to wake him up. Jaune jumped in the bed before his eyes opened. He looked over at Rain.

"So your semblance? I'm guessing it messes with my aura. I haven't had it unlocked for long, but I can already tell the difference between a hit with it and a hit without it."

Rain cocked his head, as if observing a new species. "You continue to surprise, Jaune Arc. You're right of course. I can give and take aura from people. Although it's much easier if I have their permission. Can you guess why I keep it a secret, though?"

Jaune stroked his chin for a second, "You don't want anybody using you as a weapon? Because if the armies of any one of the kingdoms found out, they would try and use you as either a gun or a lab experiment."

"Damn, kid. It is going to suck having to kick your team's collective ass. Is there any way you could convince Pyrrha to share her true motives with me? It would just be a real time-saver. We could skip the whole story arc of rivals who slowly gain a respect for each-other and eventually become friends with the possibility of more. I find it distracting when cliches enter into my life."

Jaune held up a hand. "Wait a minute. Did you just imply you have feelings for Pyrrha?"

Rain mulled it over. "I may have intimated that it would one day be a possibility. But as of right now, any flirting I may have done was purely to unnerve her. You have my word."

"Should I be worried about your rivalry with Pyrrha? You're not going to be coming after my team, right?"

Rain let a pssh. "No. Not unless I absolutely have to. I probably won't be engaging your team in any aggressive way. Besides, Nora is one of the few people I might be scared of."

"We've only been here for a few days and you're already scared of Nora?" Jaune paused, "Smart man."

"I only said I might be scared of her. I haven't seen her in action enough to come to a conclusion. But odds are good that she could overwhelm me with pure force if she tried. Just as a friendly tip; If someone were looking to take down your team, they would most likely separate Nora first and try to immobilize her. I would recommend you start her on a regimen of small doses of different paralytic toxins daily so she can build an immunity. It will really help your team in the long-run."

Jaune was silent for a moment. "Are you real?"

Rain chuckled. "Yes. Just a very odd sort of real."

The two shared a laugh before the door to the infirmary was forcefully opened and a very angry Pyrrha stalked over to Rain. He stood up to say something suitably annoying, but she slapped him across the face with his own gauntlets. The hit sent him reeling.

Jaune jumped out of bed. "Pyrrha, what the hell?"

Rain walked over and placed a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "You might want to back up, Jaune. This just got serious." he picked his gauntlets off the floor and looked at Pyrrha. "Are you sure you want this?" he asked her.

Pyrrha was stoic, "You hurt him. You promised you would go easy on him. You broke that promise. I definitely want this."

Rain sighed before slapping her face with his gauntlet, "But remember that you wanted this. Combat arena, seven o'clock tonight." Rain walked past her out of the room.

* * *

"Surely that's enough evidence. He just admitted what his semblance was to the Arc boy." Glynda said.

Ozpin turned away from the monitors and looked across the lands of Vale. "It won't be enough to get him to agree to work with us. We need to back him into a corner. We need a more public display of his semblance. Something he couldn't deny." Ozpin turned back to Glynda, "I'm still calling them in."

Glynda bristled. "Sir, I don't believe those two being here is a good idea. It was dangerous enough when _she_ was just a student here. I doubt she has become less dangerous with age. To say nothing of the brute."

"My decision is final, Glynda."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, I need you to find a way to covertly inform the student body about tonight's fight."

"Surely you're not going to let a grudge match happen, sir. What if they go too far?"

"Then we'll know Ms. Nikos is not worthy to join our ranks."

Glynda balked, "You don't think Mr. Xiao Long would kill her?"

"No. He's much too controlled for that. Besides, any life-threatening wound she sustains he could heal with his semblance. Now go gather a crowd for their fight."

Glynda walked into the elevator. "Sometimes I worry about you, sir." she said as the doors closed.

* * *

"Russel?" Rain asked.

"Yes, boss?"

"Where did all these people hear about this fight?" Rain gestured to the mass of students crowded in the arena.

"No idea, sir. I didn't tell anybody you didn't tell me to."

Rain sighed, "At least I'll be able to embarrass Pyrrha even more."

Rain's sisters walked up to him. Ruby had a "GO RAIN" sign in her hands and Yang had painted a snowflake with a lightning bolt through it on each cheek.

"What are you two doing here? You should be studying." Rain said.

Yang made a face. "It's the first day. We don't have anything to study."

"Then you should be resting up for tomorrow."

"Look, we're here. We're going to be cheering you on. Deal with it. I also bet a lot on you, so make this good. Pyrrha took Jaune's place in the tournament earlier and won, so she's the odds-on favourite. I'm going to make a lot of money tonight."

"Who's taking the bets?" Rain asked.

Yang shrugged. "A few fourth-years. The odd third-year. And Weiss. She's smart enough to only accept bets against you."

"Great." Rain drew the word out.

A girl with rabbit ears walked over to him. "Hello, Mr. Xiao Long. The announcer is eager to get this underway. She requests that you enter the tunnel and wait for your cue to enter the ring."

"We have an announcer?" Rain asked, incredulous. "Since when do we have an announcer?"

The girl blushed, "Since Coco found a microphone. She had to fight some girl named Nora for the job."

"Fine. We've come this far, might as well go all the way." Rain walked through the stands until he got into the tunnel for the second time that day. Pyrrha joined him soon after.

"I take it Jaune didn't tell you what actually happened during our fight." he said.

"If he did, I didn't hear it. I'm going to beat you in front of all these people and prove that I'm better than you."

"I've really gotten under your skin, haven't I?"

She rounded on him. "Despite how infuriating you are, the one thing I could tell was that you were a man of your word. And then you found a way to disappoint even there."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were genuinely upset. But you have to genuinely like someone to be genuinely upset about them disappointing you. And you could never genuinely like me like that."

Pyrrha just sneered and turned back to face the arena. Moments later a voice echoed through the arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Huntsmen and Huntresses. I would like to invite you all to the inaugural Fight Night!" this was greeted with a chorus of cheers. "I am your host, Coco Adel. As we are about to begin, I would like to first announce that the bookies are closed for now and you should all take your seats."

There was a pause as everybody in the arena settled in to watch the fight.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for! Our first fighter is mysterious. We know he comes from Vale and he has yet to be seen sweating. He's the storm incarnate, he is fast as lightning and cool as a blizzard. Rain Xiao Long!"

Rain took that as his cue and sauntered into the arena to a light cheer.

Coco came back over the speakers. "And now, our second fighter. She's the Mistral prodigy, she can get you as much Pumpkin Pete's as you want. The winner of the first-year tournament earlier today, Pyrrha Nikos!"

Pyrrha walked out of the tunnel to a deafening roar. _Gee,_ _I wonder who most of the crowd bet on?_ Rain thought to himself.

"Fighters, take your starting positions." Coco paused as they walked into two spotlights. "Now there are a few rules before this starts. Firstly, no killing. Second, there are no other rules! Fight!" Somewhere a bell was rung.

Rain quickly sent a storm of icicles and lightning towards Pyrrha, who dodged out of the way and started shooting at him. Rain was forced to move out of the way. Pyrrha used his defense play to run up and slam her shield into his face. Unlike Jaune, Rain knew how to take that hit and moved with it. Using the force of impact to roll backwards before launching a boulder of ice at Pyrrha.

Pyrrha dropped to the ground and – the second the boulder had cleared her – was back on her feet. Now the two circled each-other. Each trying to suss out the other's weak point. Apparently seeing one, Pyrrha launched forward. Rain went to deflect her spear, but felt resistance on his gauntlets. A second later, her spear slammed into his sternum and sent him flying.

"So we're using semblances, are we?" Rain shouted at her.

"I assure you I have no idea what you're talking about." Pyrrha smirked.

"That was a cheap trick and you know it. Let me guess: Polarity. Maybe some low level telekinesis. Doesn't matter. I can end this in one hit with my semblance if I wanted to."

"Oh really?"

"Really."

"Well, you're welcome to try."

Rain straightened up, "Was that your permission?"

"Yes. Now try and take me down, if you can."

"Big mistake." Rain used his gauntlets to create a snowstorm inside the arena. Using the low visibility, he snuck up to Pyrrha and leeched most of her aura. When the snow cleared, the arena was silent at the sight of Pyrrha unconscious on the ground with Rain standing over her.

Rain looked up at the stands. "Most of you just lost some money. Some of you just made a lot of money. I expect to get a cut. You know who you are." Rain walked out of the arena.

* * *

"I will not go higher than twenty percent. Take it or leave it." Weiss said.

"Are you kidding me? Twenty percent for a fight that rocked the student body?" Rain asked, incredulous.

After the fight, Rain had gone to hang out with his sisters, partially because he knew they'd be worried. Partially because he needed to collect his winnings from Yang and Weiss.

Weiss huffed. "It was over far too quickly. If you want to make more next time, maybe don't end the fight so quickly."

"What do you mean by 'next time'? This was a one-off. Nobody should have expected anything more. What we did was technically against school policy. Everybody in that arena could have been expelled."

"Lighten up, big bro." Yang said, "This could be a great way to test yourself. See how you hold up against your fellow students."

"You just want to make more money betting on me."

Yang's face turned red. "What? No. What? We all think it would be a good idea. Right, girls?" Yang asked the rest of her team.

"Come on, Rain. It'll be fun." Ruby said.

"We could make more money." Weiss said.

They all turned to Blake. She stared at them over the top of her book. "What?"

Yang walked over and pulled the book down. "Don't you think my brother should continue fighting at Fight Nights?"

"No. There's nothing for him to gain by doing so." Blake moved her book back up.

"Thank you." Rain said, "Finally, somebody who can see my point of view."

"Although," Blake lowered her book, "you could use it as a way of training others up to your skill level. Based on our conversation two days ago – vis-a-vis Beacon's defenses – I think you might like to do that."

Rain smirked, "Ms. Belladonna, you might get to learn my name after all."

"So does that mean you're in?" Yang asked.

"Yes, but my primary purpose will be as a trainer. I will only do a few fights. Before too long, people would stop betting against me and we would stop making money. But somebody trained by me? Well that's enough of a wild card that we could all make some money." Rain turned to Weiss, "And for every fight I am a part of after tonight, I expect no less than thirty-five percent."

Weiss looked like she was considering it. "Deal."

Weiss and Rain shook hands while Ruby and Yang cheered. Blake just went back to reading her book.

* * *

A shadow detached itself from the wall outside and streaked up to the roof. There it coalesced into Rain's evil twin. He pulled a gem out of his pocket and placed it on the ground. After a few seconds, an image of Salem appeared.

"Hello, Gabriel. I trust you are calling with good news."

Gabriel bowed. "Rather mixed news, actually. I have found all three of my targets in close proximity to each-other, but extraction may be difficult. My twin himself appears to be a formidable opponent. I have only seen him fight a few times since arriving. But he has easily emerged the victor in each fight. Laughably so. I fear I may have to wait for a moment where he is secluded, as he is in the process of bringing all of Beacon up to his standards. A battle may be inevitable."

Salem sighed, "If you require it, Cinder and her forces are currently residing in Vale and could lend you assistance. I am afraid that is all the help you'll be able to get."

"It will be enough, mother."

"Good. I don't wish to hear from you again until your mission is complete."

Salem's image faded and Gabriel retrieved the gem. He looked out over Beacon and began to create his battle plans.

* * *

 **A.N: So this took awhile. Eight months by the look of it. Funny how time just flies. Knew I'd get back to this someday, though. The whole Fight Nights thing should be recurring. The idea for that came to me while I was writing it. It just seemed like it would be fun to have Rain be a little uncomfortable by how big one grudge match got. Not much else to say. Next part would fall under the Jaunedice/ Forever Fall arc from the show. I'm actually really excited about that part. It was actually one of the first things I thought about when I realized would be essentially kicking Cardin out of the series. And just in case you missed it in the synopsis when you clicked on this story, this is a continuation of my other fanfic Soldiers. If you don't read that one first, this one will not make a ton of sense.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Huntsmen Chapter 5**

"For today's combat simulation," Professor Goodwitch made a pretense of looking at the list, "Rain Xiao Long vs. Team JNPR."

The entire class went silent. Almost everybody turned to look at Rain. Even team JNPR looked confused. Jaune tentatively put up a hand.

"Yes, Mr. Arc?" Glynda asked, agitation clear in her voice.

Jaune cleared his throat. "Well, um, isn't that a bit unfair, professor? Rain is... well, Rain. But is this really okay for our second week of classes?"

Glynda sighed and said in a tone which brooked no argument. "Professor Ozpin approves all combat simulations before they happen, young man. Are you questioning the headmaster?"

Jaune's face flushed. "No, ma'am."

"Good. Then get down here."

Rain joined team JNPR in the arena with no sign of discomfort on his face. Inside, he was slightly worried. His suspicions had been confirmed by this point: Goodwitch and Ozpin wanted to push him to his limits. He just couldn't figure out why. If they wanted him to be a weapon, they could have found an easier way. No. There was something much more important happening that he couldn't see. And he didn't like that.

"Start the fight." Goodwitch called.

Rain immediately shot forward into their group and slammed his palm to the ground freezing their feet to the floor. He then unleashed a torrent of energy into Nora. Assuming that would put her down, Rain spun to take down Ren, judging him the easiest target. He got off one punch before something slammed into his back with incredible force. He went flying across the arena, eventually colliding with a wall and slumping to the floor.

When he got back to his feet, he saw Nora rushing him. There was energy crackling around her in a sort of death halo. "Okay, Rain," he muttered to himself, "mistakes have been made. Now let's fix that."

Rain ran forward to meet Nora, but at the last second he flipped over her. As he was above her, he unleashed several blasts of ice to attempt to keep her down for a few seconds. He then went to tackle her team.

Pyrrha had already broken out of the ice and was aiming her rifle at him. She unleashed several shots in quick succession. Rain only managed to avoid them by virtue of him being a clever bastard who was very good at thinking on his feet. He used ice to launch himself up high before slamming back to the arena like a meteor.

He landed on Pyrrha boots first and rolled off towards Jaune. Using his momentum, Rain delivered a powerful uppercut, immediately followed by an energy blast. He then turned to Ren and slammed him in the face with a fist made of ice. He followed it up by using the ice to block Pyrrha's swing aimed at his back.

Her blade stuck in the ice and Rain used that moment of confusion to pull her in for a headbutt. As she reeled back, he released the ice so she fell back. He then ran over to deliver a kick to her head, rendering her unconscious.

Scanning the arena, he realized that the only one he had left standing was Nora. _Even for me,_ _this is good. Now to take out the tank._

Rain stalked over to where Nora was breaking her way out of the last of the ice. As she turned to face him, there was fire in her eyes. Rain paused for a moment to strategise how to take down such a monster. He couldn't just unload energy on her again. She seemed to just get stronger from that. He could use either ice or his semblance. His semblance was risky since it required him to get close, but it could definitely end this fight quickly. But on the other hand his ice seemed to only slow her, not stop her. Then again, there was always a third option, unsavoury as it may be.

Rain ran to meet Nora head on and began harrying her. He stayed on the move enough that she couldn't predict where he'd hit her from next while he figured out how to put his plan into motion. Luckily, it didn't take him long. He spotted a chunk of ice close enough that the ruse would be believable. He manoeuvred around until he was able to "slip" on it. Nora noticed and knocked him clear across the arena.

Rain felt his aura levels fading down to nothing and let it happen. He barely heard the buzzer for the end of the match. He lay there for a minute before he felt somebody move him into a sitting position. He opened his eyes to see Yang crouching beside him. She reached out a hand.

"Do you need some help, big bro?" Yang said, hiding her permission for his semblance.

"That would be appreciated." He took her hand and drained enough of her aura to stand while she helped him up. As he stood, he pretended to still be weak and she steadied him. They started walking for the exit.

"Miss, Xiao Long." professor Goodwitch said, "Just where are you two going? Class isn't over."

Yang's eyes flashed red. "He's going to the infirmary, ma'am." Rain was impressed she had kept her anger in check enough to speak. That was the most emotional stability he'd ever seen in his sister.

Once they had shuffled out of the building, Rain straightened up and Yang turned to face him, "That was incredibly stupid. You could have won that fight easily."

"Probably. But I would have had to make the big reveal. And I didn't feel like doing so this early in my school career."

"You know you won't be able to keep it a secret forever. The other students are beginning to ask questions. Teachers too. Ruby and I can only feign ignorance for so long. Blake has been getting some close guesses."

Rain perked up, "Blake's been asking about me? Has she said anything else?"

Yang scoffed. "For all of your stupidly complicated thoughts, you can be incredibly transparent. If you're asking if she's into you, ask her yourself. I'm not going to play matchmaker with my brother and my partner."

Rain reeled back, clutching his chest. "You're so cruel. Here I stand, having suffered my first defeat since childhood, and you refuse to give me some good news. Such a wicked twin I have."

"Yeah. It doesn't count if you lost on purpose. Can you make it to the infirmary? I want to watch the rest of the fights."

"Of course I can. I'm me."

"And you wonder why people dislike you." Yang mumbled as she walked away.

* * *

Rain was lying in the infirmary – pondering an effective way to take down Nora – when the door opened. In walked Jaune.

"Well, that was unexpected." Jaune said.

"I assure you I have no idea what you're talking about." Rain said.

"Pyrrha's positively jubilant about us beating you. I don't have the heart to remind her how easily you could have ended things."

"Jubilant? Nice word choice. She shouldn't be celebrating, though. I lost to your whole team. Really to Nora. If it was team vs. team she could celebrate. As it stands, I'm still winning our rivalry."

Jaune took a seat beside Rain's bed. "Why _did_ you lose?"

"Because to win would have required me to use my semblance. And even if I could have hidden it, like I did against Pyrrha, Nora would not have been able to keep that secret. So there was only one option: Take the L."

"Well, that's one way of doing things, I guess. Pyrrha actually offered to teach me how to fight better, you know?"

"And did you accept?"

Jaune looked embarrassed. "I actually kind of told her off. In the process, I let slip a big secret."

Rain straightened up, eager to learn anything about his potential opponents. "Do tell."

Jaune checked to make sure nobody was around, "I faked my transcripts. I didn't go to a preliminary battle school."

Rain whistled, "That's a big secret. Why tell me?"

"Because I'm keeping one of your secrets, and I'm betting you won't spill mine while I have yours. More than that, I don't know. You seem trustworthy."

Rain relaxed, the secret filed away for a possible later use. "Thanks. You should accept Pyrrha's help, by the way. It's practical. Plus, you should get back on her good side."

"Because she might spill my secret?"

"No. Because she's got a thing for you."

Jaune froze, confusion written across his face. "No she doesn't."

"Yes, she does, kiddo. Even I can see it."

"If that's true, why tell me? Wouldn't that work against your goals of making her miserable?"

"I'm not trying to make her miserable. I'm just trying to beat her in every possible way until she tells me what I want to know. Making her happy might actually help out in the long run."

"Oh. But what do I say to her? How do I apologize?"

"Well I generally use the word 'sorry' in my apologies. Something like this, though... I might have something that could help." Rain swung out of bed, "Come with me."

Rain and Jaune made their way to the dorms and into Rain's room. Rain walked over to his trunk of stuff.

"I know it's in here somewhere. I found it at a market in Mistral when I went there on vacation. It intrigued me, so I bought it on a whim. Aha. There you are." Rain pulled out a box a little smaller than his fist. He tossed it to Jaune.

"What is it?" Jaune asked.

"It's a piece of jewellery with great significance in Mistral. Some people have been known to use it as a way of apologizing for a big mistake. Pyrrha's from Mistral, so she should recognize it. It should get you out of the doghouse."

"Thanks, man. Why are you being so nice to me?"

Rain put a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "Because anybody involved with a strong woman needs all the help they can get. Trust me, I was raised with two." Rain got a haunted look in his eyes before snapping back, "You might want to apologize in private. It's a very personal gift."

"Thanks. I'll go do that right now."

Jaune ran out of the room. Rain smirked and left, walking to his sisters's room. He knocked on their door. He heard a voice say, "Come in." When he entered, he saw only Blake was in the room. "They're not here." She said.

"That's fine. Do you want to go watch a very awkward interaction with me? I guarantee it'll be funny."

Blake looked up from her book. "How awkward?"

"A guy giving a girl what equates to an engagement ring. Except _he_ doesn't know that."

"And she does?"

"Most definitely."

Blake bookmarked and put down her book. "Let's go."

* * *

It didn't take them very long to locate Jaune and Pyrrha on the dorm roof. There weren't a whole lot of private places on campus. Rain managed to make a little ice platform that fit him and Blake just below the lip of the roof. They watched as Jaune stumbled his way through an apology before pulling out the box.

"Um, a friend told me that this was from Mistral. It's for you." He handed her the box. She opened it and gasped. She pulled out a simple but beautiful gold earring inlaid with emeralds.

"Jaune, do you know what this signifies?"

"I was told it could be used as an apology. Does it mean something else? Do you not like it."

Pyrrha bit her lip, a battle between her heart and her brain waged behind her eyes. "No. I love it. Thank you very much." She put it in her ear, "How does it look?"

"Beautiful. Um, I didn't just want to apologize. I also wanted to accept your offer from earlier. If it still stands, that is."

Pyrrha laughed. She then stepped close to Jaune and knocked him on his ass. "First lesson: stance. You need to plant your feet so people can't just knock you over like I did."

Rain turned to Blake, "I think we've seen as much awkwardness as we'll see for tonight, don't you?" he whispered.

The two of them got ready to climb down the building when they heard a grunt followed by a scream. They jumped into action and landed on the roof. Sitting across from them was Pyrrha cradling an unconscious and slightly bleeding Jaune. Looming above them was a man in a shifting black cloak.

"Blake, go get the teachers. Now." Rain said without taking his eyes off the cloaked man.

"Which ones?" Blake asked.

"All of them."

Blake nodded and leapt off the roof.

Rain searched for anything about the man's form beneath the cloak. "So who are you? Why did you attack these two?

A coldly familiar voice issued from the cloak. "I am merely a son doing as he is told. I attacked these two to draw you into a confrontation. Now they no longer matter. Shall I get rid of them?" The man reached a hand down and Rain knew in his gut that somehow, he and this man shared a semblance.

Rain rushed forward and stopped the man's hand inches from Pyrrha's face. He pulled the arm back and delivered a headbutt to where the face should be. The stranger stumbled back, but recovered just as quickly as Rain would. His hood annoyingly stayed in place the whole time. Rain moved between the enemy and his... well he wouldn't call them friends, but they were definitely more than acquaintances.

"How is he?" Rain asked without taking his eyes off the man.

"Unconscious, but he seems fine." Pyrrha responded.

"Good. If I call on you, can you manipulate his weapons? I might not need it, but something about him sets me on edge."

"Just say the word." Pyrrha said, steel in her voice.

Rain brought his attention back to the hooded man. "Why did you want to draw me out? What do you gain by fighting me?" Rain shouted, hoping to get the attention of anybody else nearby.

"I have been sent on my mission to collect you and remove your sisters. Nothing else is consequential."

"But why? Why come after me and my family? I haven't done anything to earn this."

"It is not what you have done, brother. It is what you are." The man lowered his hood to reveal an identical face to Rain's, except harder and drained of emotion and with a manic zeal behind the eyes. "You are a disobedient son. And I have come to bring you back to mother."

Rain pushed the revelation of his new twin aside. "My mother abandoned me. She doesn't care about me."

Evil Rain scoffed. "Not the woman who birthed you. Your true mother. The one responsible for your existence and mine." he pulled a knife and a rope from the folds of his cloak, "Now choose how you will come: easy or hard?"

Rain steeled himself. "I'm not coming with you."

Evil Rain dropped the rope. "Hard it is."

Just before the two men were about to clash, bullheads surrounded the rooftop and teachers and policemen landed in a circle around them. Ozpin walked in between them. "I think it's about time that you two stop fighting and come with me." Ozpin turned to Evil Rain. "I'm not sure who you are, but I am sure you understand that we must put you in shackles. For safety's sake, of course."

Evil Rain looked like he was contemplating his chances of fighting his way out. "I really don't like being restrained. It makes me agitated."

Ozpin took a sip from his mug. "Unfortunately, I must insist." He motioned to two policemen, who came forward with shackles and stun batons.

"Before you do that," Rain spoke up, "don't let him touch you if you can help it. It won't end well."

One of the cops turned to Rain, "Kid, I think we can handle one-" He was cut off by Evil Rain grabbing him and pressing a knife against his neck.

"Okay." Evil Rain said. "Here's how it's going to go down. I and this meat-bag are going to move to the edge of the roof. A bullhead is going to pick us up and take me wherever I want to go. If anyone pursues us, I will kill this guy and the pilot. Any questions?"

Rain raised his hand. "I have one, but it's not for you. Pyrrha, would you like to do the honours?" As the final word left his lips, the dagger flew out of Evil Rain's grasp and into Rain's raised hand.

Evil Rain looked around the roof before releasing the officer and holding his hands out for shackles. "I surrender. I am unarmed and will come quietly."

Ozpin motioned to the same officers. "Shackle him and put him in one of the school's cells."

"We have jail cells?" Rain asked.

Ozpin turned to him, "Not exactly. We have cells we keep grimm in for certain combat exercises. They work quite well for the occasional human occupant. I would recommend that you three" Ozpin motioned to Pyrrha and Jaune, "report to the infirmary for a check-up. This must have been a very traumatic experience for you all."

"That sounds like a good idea, professor. We'll do that." Rain said, unsure why Ozpin wouldn't want them sticking around.

Rain walked over to Pyrrha and they supported Jaune between the two of them as they made their way across campus. They were outside the dorms before Pyrrha spoke to him. "Thanks."

"What was that?" Rain asked.

"You heard me. I'm grateful you were there to help us against... whoever that was. Although I am curious how you and Blake were able to respond so quickly."

"We were studying in my dorm room. It's right below that part of the roof and the window was open." Rain wasn't entirely lying. His room _was_ right there.

"So you weren't observing Jaune and me on that roof?"

"I have no idea what you're intimating."

"So it's just coincidence that someone gave Jaune a Mistral betrothal earring without telling him what it was?"

Rain thought about feigning ignorance, but decided it would be too much effort. "Alright, you caught me. I gave him that earring because I thought it would be funny and awkward. I also did it because I heard you were pissed at him and my team can't be better than yours if there is discord among you. That's not a challenge."

"But you already lost to our team. I won."

"No. I, an individual, lost to your whole team. I still beat most of you, by the way. I would only accept it as a loss if it was team versus team. As it stands, I only lost to an underestimated variable. It won't happen again."

Pyrrha let out an annoyed sigh. "So how do I make this end? Because it's only been a couple of weeks and this is already exhausting."

"Two ways. One: you tell me your true motivations behind wanting to be the best and I drop this rivalry. Two: you actually beat me and I admit that you are better than I am. Option one is a lot easier on you, all things considered."

By this time, they had made it into the infirmary and the night nurse was tending to Jaune. Rain and Pyrrha were given a once-over and told to go back to the dorms. The two walked in silence through the chilly night air and into the dorm building. When they got to a fork in the hallway Rain said, "I'm left."

"I'm right." Pyrrha said, a contemplative look on her face.

"Well then, I bid you adieu and look forward to continuing this rivalry tomorrow." Rain said and turned to walk away.

A hand grabbed his arm and turned him around. "It's my destiny. This rivalry is over." Pyrrha said before turning and walking away.

Rain stood there for a few minutes. "Acceptable, Miss Nikos. Deluded, but acceptable." He whispered before walking off towards his room.

* * *

 **A.N: Well this took considerably less time than the last chapter. Not much to say. I think Pyrrha might be warming up to Rain.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Huntsmen Chapter 6**

Rain was enjoying breakfast with his team the next day when his sisters invaded their table. They looked like they wanted to talk to him privately. Rain looked at his team. "Hey guys, can you give us some space?" His team got up and went to eat breakfast elsewhere. Rain looked at his sisters. "Go ahead."

Ruby unloaded a thousand questions in ten seconds. Most of them related to what his fight had been like. Yang waited until Ruby had stopped to catch her breath before she spoke. "What happened? And why was Blake hanging out with you?"

"Well, I engineered a situation I thought would be funny – it was kind of disappointing actually – and I wanted some company to watch it. I went to get one of you two, but found Blake instead. She agreed to come with me and while we were watching, Pyrrha and Jaune got attacked. I sent Blake to get help while I held off the attacker, who mysteriously looks a lot like me. Then reinforcements showed up and arrested the guy. After that, Pyrrha and I brought Jaune to the infirmary and Pyrrha finally ended our rivalry. Then I went to sleep and now I'm here." Rain thought through everything. "Yep, that's what happened."

"How did Pyrrha end your rivalry?" Ruby asked. At the same time Yang asked. "How much did he look like you?"

"She told me her secret. And he looked more my twin than you did." Rain said in between mouthfuls of pancakes. "And before you ask; no I won't share her secret and I have no idea who the guy was."

"So you have absolutely no clue why a copy of you would want to assault Pyrrha and Jaune?" Yang asked.

"Oh, he wasn't after them. He wanted me." Rain said.

"Wait, what?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah. He said he wanted to take me back to his 'mother' and kill you two. He claimed that I was 'disobedient' and he was taking me back to his mother for punishment. He was nuts."

Yang looked like she was about to ask a dozen more questions. But before she could, professor Goodwitch arrived at their table. "Mr. Xiao Long, your presence is requested in Professor Ozpin's office immediately."

"Well, it's about time." Rain stood up and walked out of the mess hall without waiting for Professor Goodwitch.

* * *

When Rain arrived in the headmaster's office he was surprised to find that he was the only one there besides Ozpin. Ozpin stood when Rain entered. "Welcome, Mr. Xiao Long. My apologies for taking you away from your breakfast, but the authorities are insisting that last night's incident be wrapped up as quickly as possible."

Rain sat down in a chair opposite Ozpin. "If time is of the essence, why aren't Pyrrha and Jaune here as well?"

Ozpin sat down gracefully while taking a sip from his mug. "I prefer to conduct interviews separately. People can so easily omit pertinent information in an attempt to spare another person's feelings."

"Right. And this would also have nothing to do with the fact that the prisoner looks just like me."

Ozpin's lips curled in the smallest smile. "Let's talk about that, shall we? Your doppelganger doesn't seem to want to answer any questions. In fact, he hasn't spoken since leaving the rooftop. I was wondering if he said anything to you before we arrived. Anything that might hint at his motivations."

"Well I could tell you what I remember, but wouldn't the cameras provide a better account? Or do they not pick up sound?"

"Unfortunately, the school has no security cameras in the dormitories for privacy reasons. It has put us in a bit of a pickle."

"I don't mean the cameras you tell people about. I mean the hidden ones. The ones cleverly disguised as lights or rivets. I think I've even spotted a few hidden in brickwork. Those must have been hard to hide."

Ozpin froze before letting out a low chuckle. "Truly, you are your mother's son. I would request that you not disclose the existence of those cameras to anyone. They are there for extra security, but the law prohibits their placement."

Rain nodded. "Of course. Although I have been wondering, with all those cameras, surely there are some incredible secrets you must know. Secrets that you could easily turn into weapons."

Ozpin looked at Rain over his mug "There may be one or two. But you have my assurance that any secrets I may know would never be leveraged into turning somebody into a weapon for me."

"So you would never use someone's dirty laundry as leverage."

"I never said that. Certain abilities could be highly useful in various areas. The study of auras or perhaps transport. Maybe even medicine."

"I'm surprised you have a secret that could be useful in so many ways."

"Well," Ozpin took a sip of coffee, "there are some truly remarkable individuals out there."

"I suppose there must be. So do you still need a statement or will the cameras suffice?"

"The cameras will suffice."

"Then I'll be on my way." Rain got up and walked to the elevator.

"Congratulations on ending your rivalry with Ms. Nikos, by the way. That should prove fruitful for everyone involved." Ozpin said as the elevator doors closed.

* * *

Rain walked off towards the class he should have been in. Outwardly he seemed as calm and collected as always, but inside he was contemplating everything about what Ozpin had said. He just couldn't seem to figure out what Ozpin wanted from him. Something big, clearly. But what? If he didn't need a weapon, then what did he need? A guinea pig? A scapegoat? No. Nothing so mundane. But what?

Rain was still debating this when he entered class. Doctor Oobleck ceased his movements. "Well, thank you for joining us, Mr. Xiao Long. We were just discussing the military history of the Faunus war. Perhaps you would like to tell us what advantage the faunus had over the humans?"

"Night vision. Since Faunus have animal aspects, many of them have excellent night vision. And since they can see at night, they have a solid eight to ten hours of the day where they can fight and humans can't. If they had the numbers, they might have won the war."

"Well put, young man." Oobleck continued the lesson in his typical rapid-fire fashion while Rain sat down with his team.

"Hey, boss." Russel said, while using his scroll to record Oobleck for transcribing later.

"I need you to arrange a fight." Rain whispered. "No weapons and no semblances. Just fists on fists."

"Against who?" Russel asked, unfazed by the strange request.

"Everyone who wants to."

"That's gonna be a lot of fights. Coco's voice is gonna wear out."

"You weren't listening. I told you to arrange a fight. One. Me versus however many want a piece."

Russel froze for a second. "That's gonna be interesting. You sure you can handle it?"

"No. But I really want to fight something."

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a truly unique fight night." Coco's voice rang across the arena. "As I'm sure you have heard, Rain Xiao Long has issued a challenge against the school. One match. Fists only. Everyone on one. So far we have twenty challengers and the list is growing. If you want a piece of the unstoppable first-year, head down to the arena."

"You sure you can do this?" Yang asked while Rain was going through his stretches.

"Sixty percent. I'm going to try using my aura-vision again."

"That's ridiculous. You said it was too much input all at once. You fainted last time."

"But this time I won't... hopefully." Rain held up a blindfold. "I've got a plan."

Yang sighed and rubbed her temples. "So your plan is to not only use a part of your semblance that you don't understand, but also fight blind? Should I enter just to watch your back? I wouldn't mind getting in a workout."

"No." Rain said with absolute authority. "This won't work with a safety net."

"What's the point of this anyway? You have nothing to prove." Yang said gingerly.

"My doppelganger made me realize that I don't understand all of myself. If I can figure this out, maybe I'll be better equipped to fight him next time. Haven't we always wondered why my semblance is so unique? Maybe there's more to it than just chance. Maybe understanding it is the key to understanding why I don't quite fit."

"You fit just fine." Yang said, as if this was an argument they'd had many times before. "It's everyone else who doesn't fit."

"Yang, I appreciate your efforts, but I've always been different, thought different from normal people. Hell, I even speak differently. Uncle Qrow and Dad have always been uneasy around me. Even Summer – as much as she tried to act like I was normal – didn't know what to make of me while she was around."

Yang put a hand on his shoulder. "You're just more to the point than the average person. You see things from odd angles, but that's not a bad thing. If you were really that weird, Ruby and I would have abandoned you a long time ago. But we're still here. Well, Ruby's studying, but that's because she knows you wouldn't want us here."

Rain chuckled. "Then why are you here?"

Yang hugged him. "Because I don't care about disappointing you."

Coco's voice echoed into the locker room. "We are now five minutes to the fight. Audience members please take your seats. Contestants please take your positions."

"That's my cue." Rain said. He walked to the arena entrance.

"Give 'em hell." Yang shouted after him.

* * *

Rain walked into the arena and saw what must have been half the students at Beacon ready to take him down. He walked to the middle of the arena and put on the blindfold. He heard whispers all around him. Coco's voice came over the loudspeakers. "Rain, are you sure about this?"

Rain cracked his knuckles and his neck. He blinked beneath the blindfold and he could see glowing lights in the shape of people all around him. His hunch had been right; he could see auras better without his eyes. Rain zeroed in on a light that was coffee coloured and a few feet above the arena floor. "Let's do this, Coco!" He shouted.

"Okay, then. Fight!" Coco shouted.

Rain saw nobody seemed to want to begin the fight. _I guess they don't think it's fair to fight a blind man._ Rain thought. _Let's get this started._

Rain ran at the closest person he could "see" and threw them into somebody else. He followed it up by punching somebody else in the face and sweeping their legs from under them. He could hear some mumbling around him. "The lady said 'fight', didn't she?" He shouted at the other fighters. "So fight!"

As if that had been what they were waiting for, all his opponents rushed forward to be the first to take him down. For Rain the world became a flurry of fists, knees, elbows, and feet. For every hit he took, three people went down. His thoughts became a non-emotional optimization of target priorities. Nothing mattered but the best way to take these people down. He didn't even notice how badly he was hurting anyone. He just cared about hitting them so they stayed down.

After a certain point, Rain realized there was nobody else left standing. His body relaxed and he realized how tired he was. Every muscle he had was screaming at him. He took off the blindfold and surveyed the scene. All things considered, he thought he had been pretty restrained. A few people had dislocated arms and legs, but that was easily fixed. Nobody seemed to be dead. Rain sat down and held up his fist. The crowd went nuts.

"Unbelievable, folks." Coco announced. "Totally unbelievable. Rain Xiao Long has defeated almost a hundred enemies with just his fists and without the use of his eyes. Truly, he is the champion of the arena."

Rain saw Yang and Blake walking towards him. He stood up to meet them, but thought better of it and sat down again. They walked over and stared down at him. Yang spoke first. "That was..."

"Brutal." Blake finished. "No finesse. No flair. Just brutal."

Rain shrugged. "I needed to blow off some steam."

Blake looked unsure what to make of him anymore. "Must have been a lot of steam."

"You could say that. It's like every part of my body is on fire. How long was the fight?"

"It lasted about thirty minutes." Yang said. "After the ten minute mark, a lot of people tried to take back their bets."

"People are still betting against me?" Rain asked. "Haven't they learned their lesson?"

Blake shrugged. "Their were a _lot_ of people fighting you. And you lost to team JNPR just yesterday."

"Hey." Rain pointed a finger at her. "I lost that fight on purpose."

Blake cocked her head. "You did? Why?"

Rain struggled to come up with a plausible excuse. "I have a concussion. I have no idea what I'm saying."

Blake squatted next to him. "Nice try. You didn't take a single blow to the head in that fight. Now explain."

Rain looked around. "Maybe not in the middle of a large crowd of people."

Blake and Yang heaved him up and helped him to the locker room. When they got their, they lowered him onto a bench and Blake stood across from him, arms crossed and tapping her foot.

Rain thought quickly about whether it was worth lying his way out of this. _She seems to be pretty perceptive. So there's that. I also think I'm into her and if I want to pursue that avenue someday, it would probably be easier if I didn't lie to her. It would probably be better if I told her rather than Yang finally breaking down one day. Okay._

Rain looked Blake in the eye. "I need your word that this remains secret."

Blake nodded. "You have my word."

Rain took a deep breath and let it out. "I can manipulate aura."

"Ha. Right. And I'm a grimm." Blake said.

"I'm not kidding. I can drain and transfuse aura into people. I can even activate a sort of... I call it 'aura-vision'. I can see people's aura even if they are hidden behind something."

Blake uncrossed her arms. "So the blindfold?"

"Was a test of my aura-vision. And now you can understand what I mean when I say that I lost my fight yesterday on purpose. I keep my semblance secret since pretty much everyone and their dog would want to use me. Either as a weapon or a test subject. I like my freedom, though. I'm weird that way."

Blake stood there for a few minutes, processing. "Why would you trust me with this? We barely know each-other. You're essentially putting your life in my hands. Why?"

"Honestly? A few reasons. Do you want to hear them?"

"Yes. I need to understand why you would trust a complete stranger with this."

Rain held up two fingers. "First of all," he said while pointing to the first finger, "you're very perceptive and I think you would see through almost any lie. Secondly," Rain pointed to his second finger, "I'm pretty sure one of my sisters would eventually break and tell you. It's just easier if I do it."

"Hey." Yang said. Rain turned to her, one eyebrow raised. "Yeah, I guess that's fair."

Rain turned back to Blake. "So do you understand why I thought it would be easier to just tell you? Because I could come up with more reasons, but my thoughts are being drowned out by how tired I am. Yang?" Rain held out his hand.

"You got it." Yang took his hand and let him drain as much as he needed. Rain felt it wash over him like swimming in a stream on a scorching summer day.

"So that's why you're such a good fighter?" Blake asked. "Because you couldn't use your semblance without outing yourself?"

"Yup. It also hurts like a bitch if I don't have the other person's permission. It's like drinking bleach. It hurts the other person as well, but sometimes that can work out to my advantage."

Blake looked perplexed. "How does causing yourself pain work out to your advantage?"

"Because after sixteen years, I'm a lot more used to it than anyone else could possibly be."

"Hmm. Fair enough." Blake sat down beside him. "So who all knows about your semblance?"

"Well, there's Yang, Ruby, you, my uncle might suspect what it is, but he has no solid proof, Jaune."

"What?" Yang asked. "Why?"

Rain shrugged. "He feels trustworthy." Rain went back to his list. "Pyrrha might have an idea, but if she thought about it she'd probably reject the idea as ridiculous. Oh and Ozpin definitely knows, but he hasn't said it out loud. Not sure what his game is, but he wants something from me. I think that's everyone."

"So not even your father knows about your semblance?"

"Nope. He's... protective. It would just cause him to worry a lot. And he worries enough just believing that I don't have a semblance. If he knew the danger my semblance puts me in, he never would have let me become a huntsman." Rain felt a wave of mental tiredness wash over him. "If you have any other questions, I would be happy to answer them tomorrow. Right now though, I need to sleep. I would appreciate it if you two helped me back to my room."

* * *

Rain tossed and turned fitfully in his sleep that night, caught in a nightmare he was all too familiar with. It always started innocently enough. He was in the yard, playing with his sisters, all three of them children. But then a ball was kicked into the woods and he went to retrieve it. In his search, he came across drops of blood. They formed a trail which led to a white rose that was dripping blood from it's petals.

Rain squatted down to examine the flower. As he drew nearer, the forest became draped in roiling shadows that spoke at a volume just outside of his ability to hear. The ground shook around the flower and vines covered in thorns burst from it. They wrapped around young Rain, binding him in place and wounding him at the same time. Around him the shadows began to shout. He couldn't hear everything, but he could make out a few phrases: "Don't fail me." "Make it right." "You must not let me down."

Young Rain screamed and Rain woke screaming. His team was looking down at him in fright. He stood up quickly and walked over to the window, throwing it open and drinking deeply of the cold midnight air. When his mind had cooled he turned back to his team.

"You will not speak of this. If anyone asks about any screaming from our room, tell them we were watching a horror movie. If they don't believe you, find a way to change the subject. Am I understood?"

His team looked at each-other, concerned. It didn't take long before they all turned back to him. "Yes, sir." They said in unison.

Rain mentally relaxed. "Good. Now go back to sleep." He waited until his team had all climbed into bed before he put on some casual clothes and slipped into the hallway. He pulled out his scroll and scrolled through his contacts before finding who he was looking for and hitting call.

Eventually a groggy voice answered. "Do you know what time it is? What could you possibly want?"

"I need to talk to you on the roof. It can't wait." Rain hung up and made his way to the stairs.

* * *

 **A.N: Wow. I have a lot of trouble with writing on a schedule, huh? Would you believe I was in a coma the whole time? Neither would I.**


End file.
